Nancy Guthrie, mother of a prominent U.S. TV host, remains missing as authorities investigate her kidnapping. The FBI has released new video footage and photos showing an armed and masked individual believed to be involved. Law enforcement urges anyone with information to come forward.

Nancy Guthrie Abduction: FBI Publishes Footage in Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping Case

Nancy Guthrie Still Missing: FBI Releases New Evidence in Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping Investigation

From “black-ish” to a “West Wing” reunion, television shows are using the power of entertainment in new ways to encourage more Americans to participate in the Nov. 3 election.

Thirty years after “Rock the Vote,” a liberal nonprofit group, fused pop culture and politics, TV makers are seeking to make dry topics like registering to vote, filling out the census and finding polling places feel vital and fun by writing them into the plots of popular shows.

In “Black Ink Crew,” a reality show about a tattoo parlor in Harlem, the Black owner registers to vote for the first time and designs a tattoo to mark the occasion. The Cuban-American family comedy “One Day at a Time” ran an episode about a census worker who comes to their home.

“We’re seeing a reshaping of how Americans are encouraged to think about civics, not only through a 30-second PSA (public service announcement) but also through integrations into storylines on some of our major shows,” said Steven Levine, director of the Civic Alliance.

The Civic Alliance, launched in January, is supported by more than 180 companies including ViacomCBS Inc VIACA.O, Spotify SPOT.N, Univision and Hollywood's Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Earlier this year, ViacomCBS rolled out a Civic Storylines Toolkit and organized workshops that have been attended by more than 200 writers across comedy, drama and reality shows.

The toolkit provides a road map on how to “infuse storylines around voting and voting culture directly into our content, instead of the more traditional approach of PSAs,” said Brianna Cayo Cotter, senior vice president of social impact at the ViacomCBS entertainment and youth group.

“Television can really shape the way people think and feel around major issues. But that philosophy had never been applied to civic engagement,” Cayo Cotter said.

Many of the shows are aimed at millennials and Gen Z, who together outnumber baby boomers for the first time in the U.S. electorate, according to a 2019 report by the Pew Research Center.

An upcoming episode of comedy “black-ish” will focus on first-time voter Junior, who discovers he has been dropped from voter lists and wants to find out why.

The main cast of White House drama “The West Wing,” which finished its run in 2006, is reuniting for a special episode aimed at promoting voting in November.

Actor Kal Penn, from stoner movie franchise “Harold and Kumar,” is launching comedy show “Kal Penn Approves This Message” on the youth-oriented Freeform channel that will tackle topics like healthcare and climate change as well as information about how and where to vote.

“It’s very important for the show to be funny and non-partisan,” said Penn. “Younger people tend to not be affiliated with a political party the way older audiences are. They tend to care more about issues,” he said.

The initiatives are already yielding results. Appeals by Trevor Noah on “The Daily Show” have resulted in more than 100,000 people signing up to be poll workers through dedicated links on the show’s website, ViacomCBS said.

From “black-ish” to a “West Wing” reunion, television shows are using the power of entertainment in new ways to encourage more Americans to participate in the Nov.

From “black-ish” to a “West Wing” reunion, television shows are using the power of entertainment in new ways to encourage more Americans to participate in the Nov. 3 election. Thirty years after “Rock the Vote,” a liberal nonprofit group, fused pop culture and politics, TV makers are seeking to make dry topics like registering to vote, filling out the census and finding polling places feel vital and fun by writing them into the plots of popular shows. In “Black Ink Crew,” a reality show about a tattoo parlor in Harlem, the Black owner registers to vote for the first time and designs a tattoo to mark the occasion. The Cuban-American family comedy “One Day at a Time” ran an episode about a census worker who comes to their home. “We’re seeing a reshaping of how Americans are encouraged to think about civics, not only through a 30-second PSA (public service announcement) but also through integrations into storylines on some of our major shows,” said Steven Levine, director of the Civic Alliance. The Civic Alliance, launched in January, is supported by more than 180 companies including ViacomCBS Inc VIACA.O, Spotify SPOT.N, Univision and Hollywood's Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Earlier this year, ViacomCBS rolled out a Civic Storylines Toolkit and organized workshops that have been attended by more than 200 writers across comedy, drama and reality shows. The toolkit provides a road map on how to “infuse storylines around voting and voting culture directly into our content, instead of the more traditional approach of PSAs,” said Brianna Cayo Cotter, senior vice president of social impact at the ViacomCBS entertainment and youth group. “Television can really shape the way people think and feel around major issues. But that philosophy had never been applied to civic engagement,” Cayo Cotter said. Many of the shows are aimed at millennials and Gen Z, who together outnumber baby boomers for the first time in the U.S. electorate, according to a 2019 report by the Pew Research Center. An upcoming episode of comedy “black-ish” will focus on first-time voter Junior, who discovers he has been dropped from voter lists and wants to find out why. The main cast of White House drama “The West Wing,” which finished its run in 2006, is reuniting for a special episode aimed at promoting voting in November. Actor Kal Penn, from stoner movie franchise “Harold and Kumar,” is launching comedy show “Kal Penn Approves This Message” on the youth-oriented Freeform channel that will tackle topics like healthcare and climate change as well as information about how and where to vote. “It’s very important for the show to be funny and non-partisan,” said Penn. “Younger people tend to not be affiliated with a political party the way older audiences are. They tend to care more about issues,” he said. The initiatives are already yielding results. Appeals by Trevor Noah on “The Daily Show” have resulted in more than 100,000 people signing up to be poll workers through dedicated links on the show’s website, ViacomCBS said.

US TV shows try a new election playbook: making voting part of the story

Sesame Street, the popular pre-school educational&nbsp;TV show that launched in the US&nbsp;in 1969, has recently announced that for the first time ever it will have&nbsp;an autistic character:&nbsp;Julia is an autistic toy rabbit with orange hair who promises to keep the kids glued to the TV screens. The rabbit will make her debut in April in the US.&nbsp;

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="430" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wCsVSHT3tpY" width="970"></iframe>

In conversation with CBS News, the show&rsquo;s producers said, &ldquo;We struggled over how to talk about autism to a young audience, because it&#39;s different for every person.&rdquo;

The TV screenplay writer Christine Ferraro said that in her first episode, Julia will demonstrate some common characteristics associated with autism, such as ignoring the character Big Bird, an important character on the show when they&#39;re first introduced.

Christine said, Big Bird thinks &ldquo;Maybe she didn&#39;t like me&rdquo; but the other muppets tell him, &ldquo;She does things just a little differently&rdquo;.&nbsp;

In the story, Julia will also get overexcited while playing and react by jumping up and down. Instead of making fun of her, the other Sesame Street characters will join in. The writers hope that the children watching the show will address the new character as &ldquo;Julia&rdquo; and not &ldquo;Julia with autism&rdquo;.&nbsp;

According to Jeanette Betancourt, Sesame Workshop&#39;s senior vice president of US social impact,&nbsp;&quot;In the US, one in 68 children is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. With Julia&#39;s introduction we&nbsp;wanted to promote a better understanding and reduce the stigma often found around these children. Just as we look at all children as being unique, we should do the same thing when we&#39;re looking at children with autism.&quot;

Sesame Street is one of the most engaging children shows known for its educational content and animated characters.

(WION)

The writers hope that the children watching the show will address the new character as 'Julia' and not 'Julia with autism'

Sesame Street, the popular pre-school educational TV show that launched in the US in 1969, has recently announced that for the first time ever it will have an autistic character: Julia is an autistic toy rabbit with orange hair who promises to keep the kids glued to the TV screens. The rabbit will make her debut in April in the US. In conversation with CBS News, the show’s producers said, “We struggled over how to talk about autism to a young audience, because it's different for every person.” The TV screenplay writer Christine Ferraro said that in her first episode, Julia will demonstrate some common characteristics associated with autism, such as ignoring the character Big Bird, an important character on the show when they're first introduced. Christine said, Big Bird thinks “Maybe she didn't like me” but the other muppets tell him, “She does things just a little differently”. In the story, Julia will also get overexcited while playing and react by jumping up and down. Instead of making fun of her, the other Sesame Street characters will join in. The writers hope that the children watching the show will address the new character as “Julia” and not “Julia with autism”. According to Jeanette Betancourt, Sesame Workshop's senior vice president of US social impact, "In the US, one in 68 children is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. With Julia's introduction we wanted to promote a better understanding and reduce the stigma often found around these children. Just as we look at all children as being unique, we should do the same thing when we're looking at children with autism." Sesame Street is one of the most engaging children shows known for its educational content and animated characters. (WION)

Meet Julia, Sesame Street's first autistic character

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Nancy Guthrie Abduction: FBI Publishes Footage in Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping Case

Nancy Guthrie Still Missing: FBI Releases New Evidence in Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping Investigation

US TV shows try a new election playbook: making voting part of the story

Meet Julia, Sesame Street's first autistic character